On Friday I made a second donation to Dress for Success Worldwide. It felt really good.
On November 10, 2016, I opened a shop-within-a-shop in my Etsy store, the Pink Heart Shop. 100% of the proceeds from this shop go to Dress for Success. So far, all thanks to my wonderful customers, I have been able to donate $297. I have had a lot of really positive responses.
A few of the diverse vintage items in my Pink Heart Shop right now
Many I know have been inspired to live their convictions in the wake of the November elections, and I’d like to highlight one person in particular. She is a friend—a vintage connoisseur with a penchant for 1950s styles—who has consigned many beautiful vintage fashion items with me. We made an agreement about her percentage of each sale. This partnership has been going on for years.
When she heard about my Pink Heart Shop sales, my friend asked if I would add some of her items to the Shop, which I did. Later she came back with this:
I’m wondering if you would consider taking the rest of the items I sent and just donating my portion of the sales to Dress for Success?
What do you mean? There are many, many items...
I mean that the items are yours and 100% of what you receive that would have come to me can go to Dress 4 Success.
It is a good, even great, cause. I believe in helping other women grow & grow & grow.
And that’s the point of the cause. According to their About Us page, “Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to almost 145 cities in 21 countries and has helped more than 925,000 women work towards self-sufficiency.”
Dress for Success photo
(My friend Tweets and Pins as Spiritual Feminist—you should check her out. This is her website.)
Friday I made a donation, yesterday I took part in the Women’s March on Spokane.
I have also just donated 10% of proceeds on all non-Pink Heart Shop items to Save the Manatee Club, to help protect this beloved endangered species. This too is ongoing for me.
Human rights, the environment, public health, education... There is a lot at stake right now. In fact, one of my favorite signs from the march yesterday read TOO MANY ISSUES TO FIT ON A SIGN.
But many people (like my generous friend) give me hope.
Photo by me (Margaret Wilds)